Brahms

BBC PROMS 2011

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Penny Gore

Wagner, Liszt and Brahms's First Symphony from Thomas Dausgaard and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, plus the world premiere of Kevin Volans's Piano Concerto for soloist Barry Douglas.

After the familiar strains of Wagner's rousing overture there's a real rarity: Liszt's La notte is an extended version of a piano piece from the Années de pèlerinage to which the composer added a middle section recalling his Hungarian roots. A late work that he wanted played at his own funeral, it is new to the Proms. So too is Kevin Volans's concerto, hot off the press and written for tonight's soloist. Expect the unexpected from a creative figure born in South Africa but now resident in Ireland whose output resists compartmentalisation.
The long shadow of Ludwig van Beethoven inhibited Brahms's early attempts at symphonic writing but he surpassed all expectations with the magnificence of his First Symphony.

Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor

Barry Douglas (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Dausgaard (conductor)

This Prom will be repeated on Thursday 25th August at 2.30pm.